Rowing

ROWING OPENS UP SPRING SEASON AT THE SACRAMENTO STATE INVITATIONAL

Mar 15, 2014

GOLD RIVER, Calif. -- Sacramento State women's varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four, novice eight and second novice eight each raced to second-place finishes on Saturday morning at the Sacramento State Rowing Invitational on Lake Natoma. The regatta, which was raced under great conditions today, marked the spring season opener for the Hornets.

Along with Sacramento State, other boats competing in the regatta were Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, Humboldt State, UC San Diego, Mills College and Orange Coast College. Gonzaga boats raced to first-place finishes in all seven races today, comprised of the varsity eight, second varsity eight, novice eight, second novice eight, varsity four, second varsity four and novice four.

"Overall, we still need to be a little cleaner, but we're getting there," Sacramento State head coach Mike Connors said. "We have some student-athletes that are a little beat up, and as they regain their fitness, it will translate to better times."

In the varsity eight, Gonzaga posted a 2,000-meter winning time of 6:38.6, followed by Sacramento State (6:48.2) and Saint Mary's (6:57.2) to round out the top three finishers in the seven-boat field.

"The varsity eight got off to a good start, but we need to get better in the second part of the race," Connors said.

In the second varsity eight, the Hornets cracked the seven-minute mark, finishing with a time of 6:58.0, behind Gonzaga (6:46.4), and ahead of Saint Mary's (7:06.7) to round out the top three places. Six boats competed in the second varsity eight competition.

"The JV8 definitely performed better than they have recently at practice, so that was a very good sign," Connors said.

The novice eight saw Gonzaga place first with a 7:09.4, followed by the Hornets (7:19.9) and UC San Diego (7:23.9) to round out the top three places in a seven-boat field.

Other times for Sacramento State boats included the varsity four (2nd, 7:45.2), second novice eight (2nd, 7:43.1), novice four (3rd, 8:19.8) and second varsity four (4th, 8:08.5).

"A year ago, we didn't even have a varsity four at this time of year, so I really feel like they did a great job, pulled a good time, and this was a good starting point for them."

Complete results from every race as well as Sacramento State lineups can be found below.

The Hornets return to action next Saturday when the team hosts both San Diego State and Alabama.